Nintendogs
Nintendogs is a video game series developed and published by Nintendo. Location Nintendogs does not specify where it takes place. The time period appears to be modern, though items such as record players make appearances. The game world focuses on a single town whose appearance is random. (Most towns will have visible ocean and coast but this is not guaranteed for every town.) Other than this, the location is never given out, and it is not possible to travel to another town or city. Story Like the location, Nintendogs also lacks a concrete plot or story. The player takes on the role of a dog owner, caring and training for various dogs of his or her choice. Similar to titles such as Animal Crossing, the game runs in real-time, and the player is free to do as he or she wishes, accumulating items and participating in various events. Gameplay Using the touchscreen, the owner can play with, train, pet, walk, and wash their virtual dog. With the microphone that is built into the DS, the player can create voice commands that their puppy will understand and, if properly trained, follow. Dogs can be walked to the park where they can practice their disc catching skills and to the gymnasium to practice agility. Players can also visit the discount shops to buy supplies for a lower price. Dogs may be entered in disc competitions, agility trials, and obedience trials, as there are five different levels in each competition. Care The dog is fed with three different types of dog food, two different treats, and given water or milk. The player can also wash the dog using the stylus and shampoo. Hunger can be measured from famished to full, and its thirst can be measured with ratings from parched to quenched. The quality of its grooming varies from filthy to beautiful, though the 'beautiful' rating cannot be attained unless the proper brush or shampoo for the dog's coat is used. As time passes without being cared for, these ratings will drop. If its condition is not amended for a long period of time, eventually the dog may run away, and though it will eventually return, this will also affect the player's trainer points, which drop by the hundreds. In addition to this, dogs that are filthy, parched, or famished are not able to participate in contests until their needs are taken care of. Walking The game gives no indication of when a dog needs a walk (usually however, a dog must wait 30 minutes after a walk to go on another walk), though non-player characters will comment that it is beneficial to provide them with at least one per day each, as only one dog may be walked at a time. Players also earn trainer points for walking their dog; the amount of points varies depending on the length of the walk, and activities participated in on the way. Special areas around the map include two parks, a gym, and a discount store. Parks are a location where the player can practice for Disc Competitions, feed or play with their dog, or have it meet with others. Players are able to tell if there are other dogs and how many are at the park on the map by an icon within the borders of the green park area showing one dog, two dogs or no dog. The Gym, which contains agility equipment, is used for training dogs for the Agility Trials. Depending on what contest level the dog is currently at, different obstacles will be usable. Dogs may also walk to a discount store where all of the items at the normal supply store are available, in addition to some others. These will not include rare items found only on walks, as certain rare items will allow the player to unlock more dog breeds. Question mark icons on the map point out areas that may contain neighborhood dogs or presents. When encountering another dog and its trainer, the player's dog may fight or play with the other. Occasionally, the player may stumble upon 'hidden' items, which are not shown on the map. Hidden garbage will appear if the dog is tired or hungry, and presents will appear if it is not. The hidden presents function exactly like the ordinary map-marked ones, containing a random object. If a dog smells urine on the ground, marked on the upper screen map by large, medium, or small dots, proportionate to how recently it has appeared, it will attempt to urinate there. A dog may urinate or defecate at a random point as well; if the latter is not picked up the player will lose trainer points. Training Training includes agility, disc-catching skills, or a new trick. All training functions on the idea that the longer each dog practices, the better they will become. Practicing often is also beneficial, as it largely prevents the dog from forgetting what it has learned. The various sports require practice at different places. To train for agility, the player must walk their dog to the Gym, where needed equipment is set out for practice. Disc Competition training takes place at one of the two parks, but is difficult unless the park has no other dogs in it. Obedience is trained for while the player's dogs are at home, again, this is best facilitated by the dog in need of training being the only dog present. Other dogs can be placed in the Dog Hotel while not needed. Contests The contests are the player's main method of earning money. There are three contests: Disc Competition, Agility Trial, and Obedience Trial. In each of them, there are 5 classes: Beginner, Open, Expert, Master, and Champion. If the player's dog places 3rd or higher in whatever class it is in, the dog will proceed to the next difficulty level. Prize money earned differs depending on which contest has been entered, what place is finished, and the class the dog is in. If the player does not place at least 3rd, they will be dropped to the previous difficulty level, unless they were in the Beginner class, at which point they will remain there. Dogs who consistently place higher than 3rd at the Champion class remain at that level. Consecutive placings of 1st while at the Champion class will go towards the 'winning streak', which is broken as soon as the dog places under first place. Bark mode Nintendogs supports a link-up method through the Nintendo DS's built-in wireless networking capabilities. A player can link his or her system with that of another person who owns a copy of Nintendogs to let the players' puppies play together. This is called "Bark Mode". If connected with a player who has a dog currently not in the current player's kennel, that dog will become available. Also, in the music section of the Supplies screen, players can use the White Record item to record a message. This can be used to say something to the other player. Dogs may also carry a present to give away for good to the other player. Dog Breeds Category:Games